MTV's 'Real World: New Orleans' episode seven review

MTV’s “Real World XXIV: New Orleans” episode seven: This week’s episode brought forward some of the lesser known and lesser exposed roommates. It was a welcome hiatus from the Preston v. Ryan drama that has dominated the first half of the season.

Courtesy of MTVMcKenzie, cast member of "Real World: New Orleans."

Great expectations: Preston dealt with some serious issues this time around. After he dressed up with some of the women for a Lady Gaga themed party, Knight made clear his feelings that Preston was “taking it too far,” in reference to Preston’s free-thinking wardrobe. Preston stood his ground, however, maintaining that he was just being himself. Later, after feeling inadequate at the Habitat for Humanity volunteer project, Preston realized his experience in the Real World house was making him come to terms with “society’s expectations of (him) as a man.”

McKenzie the sweetheart: After going on a Katrina tour throughout the city with the roommates, McKenzie decided to increase her involvement in rebuilding New Orleans. She found a volunteer opportunity with Habitat for Humanity at Musician’s Village, and brought the roommates for two days to help. Ryan stayed home, however, stating that he wanted to help in his own way. “I don’t do that,” Ryan sneered. “I do hair.” McKenzie’s dedication to the cause, however, was more than enough to cover for Ryan. Her perseverance and ability to overcome her own inhibitions was not only noble, it was adorable.

Bye-bye, Pablo: Sahar’s friend from home called to tell her some unfortunate news: Pablo, Sahar’s back-home boyfriend went home with an anonymous woman at a party. Sahar was distraught, but kept the upset mostly to herself, only confiding in Jemmye.

The cycle continues: Knight’s attitude toward Jemmye took a destructive turn this week. He continuously made disparaging and sexist comments toward her, most simply not fit to print, but Jemmye did nothing to defend herself. The roommates tried to get Jemmye to stand up to Knight, stating that the comments were particularly unkind because Knight knows about her past abusive relationship. Jemmye kept silent though and did not confront Knight.

Don’t go there: During a goofy name-calling war turning ugly between Knight and Sahar, Knight asked, “ Did Pablo already cheat on you? Yeah, he did.” Sahar was livid, as she had only told Jemmye what had happened. She turned on Jemmye, but Jemmye stood quietly by Knight’s side, continuing to take the emotional abuse without question.

McKenzie the not-so-sweetheart: While out on Bourbon one night, Knight picked up a flirtation with McKenzie, who easily reciprocated. The pair even shared a moment in the confessional and kicked Jemmye out. Though McKenzie stated it was just because they both liked to be flirtatious, the pain it caused Jemmye was obvious and the situation should have been avoided. McKenzie almost redeemed herself later when she tried to convince Jemmye to tell Knight how she felt about the verbal abuse.

Stand up and be strong: Jemmye took all of the emotional and verbal abuse from Knight without question, until finally Knight asked what was causing Jemmye to cry so much. Jemmye barely got the words out, but instead blamed her feeling badly on Eric and McKenzie talking about Knight’s treatment of her. In a roundabout way, it got Knight to talk about it and to realize what he was doing, but Jemmye should have been more up front about how she felt.

Introspection: Jemmye and Ashlee went to Metropolitan Women’s Shelter to volunteer. Jemmye said she was doing it to make herself feel better about what had happened to her in the past. “It’s over, but I haven’t dealt with it,” she told one of the women at the battered women’s shelter.

Funniest moment: The obvious Subway product placement was laughable this time. The conversation the roommates had while eating their lunch was not particularly interesting, but viewers could easily hear sounds of “This soup is so good!” or “They do breakfast, that’s awesome!” Oh, giggle.

The bottom line: Jemmye’s reluctance to confront was Knight was heartbreaking, but it’s good something got said to him eventually. It was nice to see more of the low-key roommates, namely McKenzie and Sahar, and it was great to see the roommates finally enjoy getting involved in rebuilding the city. The preview for next week, however, suggests that Jemmye doesn’t quite have her life together yet.